Luxury Sales Exceed £195 Billion

WHILE there may be decline in certain areas, market research firm Euromonitor is optimistic about the luxury industry's growth in its 2014 Passport: Luxury Goods report. The company predicts that in 2013, luxury goods sales will exceed $318 billion (£195 billion) worldwide and accredits emerging markets in Asia Pacific.

"One of the most exciting findings is that by 2018, in the next five years, based on our predictions and based on how fast the region is growing, Asia Pacific will be the biggest region in the world for luxury goods," head of luxury goods research at Euromonitor, Fflur Roberts, told the Business of Fashion. "This is predominantly due to China, but also the emerging Asian markets like Malaysia and Indonesia. India is also a major contributor."

It's a conclusion that is backed up by recent comments from Burberry chief executive Angela Ahrendts, who told French newspaperLes Echosthat growth regions such as India, Indonesia and Latin America could become the new China - the latter of which Ahrendts is not depending on. "The Chinese slowdown is maybe not a temporary accident but a new norm... our sales there have been slowing down, but we've done better than we had been expecting."